Seven Swans
by littlebonelady
Summary: Almost seven Christmases have gone by since they met. Ever since the beginning, he's given her a gift. A series of 7 one-shots about 7 holiday seasons with Bones. T, just to be safe.
1. One: A Partridge

**A/N: Hello and welcome! This is my second holiday work, and this time we're celebrating Christmas! I did a lot of thinking about this piece, and am sorry of my characters are a bit OOC; I'm kind of a cold fish and not very good with emotions. Also, I'm sorry if my recounts of some of the episodes aren't spot-on, some of my memories are fuzzy and vague.**

** Also, I realize I've never done this before, but I should probably start adding a disclaimer. But come on. Do you REALLY think I own Bones? Well, anyways, enjoy!**

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One: A Partridge.

"_Say 'Merry Christmas'" the man whispered to the little boy in his arms. He held up a small hand and waved to the woman sitting on the bar stool. _

"_Merry Christmas." the boy said with a small smile. She smiled warmly back at him. _  
><em>The man turned and started to walk away with the boy, who was clutching a homemade toy robot. "Will it do a back flip?" he asked his father. <em>

"_It'll do anything you want." the man answered in return. _

_ Sitting back at the bar, Temperance Brennan watched her partner walk away with his son with a smile on her face. And that gave her an idea. _

_ Back at the lab, she turned on the Angelator, setting it to the virtual Christmas tree that Angela had spent the good part of the last day designing. She took a box out from her office, and opened it. A couple brightly wrapped packages waited inside. She hadn't seen them since her brother had wrapped them for her almost fifteen years earlier. She took them out one by one, being careful not to disturb their contents. They were placed on the glass cover of the Angelator under the brightly colored virtual tree. _

_ She took one tentatively to the couch in Angela's office and set it on the table. A card was taped on that, when she opened it, said "Merry Christmas, Temperance!" in her mother's scrawling writing. _

_ Finally, she tore open the paper. For a second she couldn't believe it. Tears came to her eyes as she held the package which now, after fifteen years, she finally knew what it held. _  
>XXXXXXXXX<p>

"Bones, are you in here?" Booth's voice echoed through the lab, which had been vacated only a few hours before. His hair wasn't parted like it usually was, and stuck out at awkward angles. A small box was clutched in his hand.

He checked in her office, but all he could find was the blankets and pillows that he guessed were left over from her and Angela's beds the night before.

He walked quickly through, scanning the lab. He checked all of the autopsy rooms, all the workstations that flanked the forensic platform. He even swiped his card and checked to see if she was up there and hiding from sight.

Defeated, Booth started walking out. But as he passed the artist's workspace, he stopped.

A sight caught his eye that he was sure that he had never seen before. On the other side of the glass door, his partner was sitting on her best friend's couch with a package in her hands staring at it. He saw her run her hand under her eyes, the light from the dazzling virtual tree Angela made reflecting in the smudged tears on her hand. It was rare to see her like this. So... vulnerable. But she still looked happy. And that made him happy. His hand tightened around the small box. He looked down to see his knuckles turning white.

The peace was shattered when a buzzing sound came from his pocket, alerting that someone had texted him.

"_Damn,"_ Booth swore under his breath. And, as he predicted, Brennan's head snapped up and her blue eyes stared at him widely. He saw her start to get up when he turned to his phone, pretending to see who texted. He really couldn't have cared less.

"Booth, what the hell are you doing here?" Brennan said as the door was yanked open. She was still wearing the clothes that she had been wearing since the party, which told him she hadn't even been home yet. Booth didn't want to admit it, but he was a bit worried.

"I, um," he glanced nervously over his shoulder.

"No one else is here, Booth. Just tell me what you came here for," Brennan turned around and walked back towards the couch. Booth followed shyly, not knowing if she really wanted him there. He stared down at the package that had been thrown on the table when Brennan saw him.

"Bones, what's this?" he asked, picking it up.

"It's just a present from my mom." she replied vaguely, like she didn't really want him to know the details.

What she didn't realize was that everyone had already known for a while.

Booth peeled back the wrapping paper to reveal the contents, but at the last second thought better of it. He sat down on the couch, handing the package back to its owner. Brennan took it and set it beside her.

"Why are you here?" Brennan asked coldly, turning back to Booth with a solemn expression on her face. "Aren't you supposed to be having Christmas with your boy?"

"I left him with his mother. This is more important." Brennan looked at him with a confused expression. He sighed. "I know you're really not in to the whole Christmas thing, and I get that. But you've been a really good partner, and even though we fight, I still care about you."

"Why are you doing this, Booth? We're just partners. That's all we'll probably ever be."

"Because to me, we're not just partners. You're my friend, Bones. And as a friend, I came here to give you this." he handed her the box that he had been clutching in his hand. She took it warily.

"Thank you, Booth." she said curtly and put the package beside her.

"Aren't you even going to open it?" Booth was a bit shocked. Even though this was not an uncommon thing, he thought she might open it in front of him so he could see her expression when she opened it.

"I am a little preoccupied right now. I'll open it later." Booth looked down, feeling a bit rejected.

"Okay then. I guess I'll just get going now." Booth said, as he stood up. Brennan watched as he shrugged his coat back on and opened the door. He turned back for just a second to give her a small wave goodbye.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Alone again, Brennan got up to get another present from under the virtual tree. This time, she came back with a long, thin box that was wrapped in bright red and green striped paper.

But as she was just about to unwrap it, she thought better. She set the box down at her side, next to the first unwrapped gift and picked up the small box that Booth had given her just moments before.

The box was black, and covered in a soft velvet-like material. A small red bow and a slightly crushed card were perched on top of it.

With shaking hands, Brennan took the card from the top and opened it.

_To Bones, _

_This is just a little something to say thank you to you for being my partner. But you've been more than that lately. You make me laugh every day, and even though we fight, I find that I'm never really mad at you. When I saw this, I couldn't help but think of how it's just as colorful as you. _

_Your partner and friend always, _

_Booth. _

Brennan felt a tear leak out of her eye. She had always known that Booth had thought of her as a friend, but not like this. Did she really mean this much to him? Slowly, she opened the box.

Inside was a necklace. A thin chain of silver wrapped in a spiral formation around the center. Brennan followed the chain to the middle, where sat a pendant the size of a silver dollar. The pendant was in the form of a partridge, which had its head held high, it's brilliantly colored plumage intricately painted different shades of purple, blue, green, yellow and orange. In its small claw it clutched the stem of a bright green pear.

Brennan carefully lifted it out of the box and gently lifted her hair to clasp it around her neck, fighting back tears. She looked at her reflection in a mirror. It was the most beautiful gift she had ever gotten.

Dropping the box and card on the couch, Brennan grabbed her sweater and ran out the door. She streaked through the automated doors out of the lab and rounded the bend. She took the other exhibits by storm and ran out the door in to the wind.

She had to find Booth.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Booth was feeling a bit down. His gift had been shot down by Bones and he was missing spending time with Parker. He walked through the snowstorm to the parking garage, where his car was parked. The snow was already up to mid-calf and the cold was stinging his legs, but he kept walking anyways.

Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him. It sounded like someone was calling his name. But he shrugged it off and trudged on. It was probably just the wind.

Then he heard it again. It was faint, but clear.

"Booth!" a voice shouted from behind him.

He turned around to see his partner bounding through the snow towards him. With only a thin coat on, he swore that even at his distance, he could see her shivering. Booth stopped walking and waited for her to catch up to him. Without the forward movement to balance him, the wind whipped the lapels of his coat and stung his skin.

As Brennan drew closer, Booth expected her to slow down. But instead, she kept going at a running pace and before he knew what was happening, she barreled in to him, nearly knocking him over.

When Booth regained his balance, Brennan wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pulling him in to a tight hug. He put his hands on her back reassuringly, rubbing gently. Pulling back slightly, Brennan put her mouth by his ear.

"_Thank you," _she whispered gently and buried her nose in the crook of his neck inhaling the smell of gingerbread and shampoo. Booth could feel her smile against the skin of his neck and couldn't help smiling himself.

Finally, Brennan let go of him and Booth could finally see her. She was wearing the necklace he gave her; the charm rested right below her collarbone, the thin chain reflecting the pale light, and made her eyes sparkle.

"You opened it?" Booth asked, a bit surprised. "I thought you said you had better things to do."

"That's not what I said."

"That's what it sounded like when you said whatever you said in the first place."

"I didn't say I had better things to do, I just said that I was preoccupied with doing other things." Brennan rested her hands on her hips, like she did when she was annoyed. She soon brought them back up to her chest, where Booth could see her shaking violently from the cold.

"Okay, whatever. Here, take my coat. You look freezing." he handed her his thick wool coat, which she happily wrapped around her shoulders. "And the point is, you said you were too busy to open it. So why did you?"

"I was going to open something else, when I realized that I had been rude to you. I thought it would only be fair if I opened you gift while I could still catch you to thank you." Booth couldn't help but smile at her logic.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to spoil the moment and was relieved when Brennan smiled widely back at him.

"It's... It's _beautiful, _Booth. It's one of the best gifts I've ever gotten." Brennan felt tears begin to prickle her eyes again. "You card was also very touching. Do you really think of me as a friend?"

"Yeah, I do Bones. I do."

"You're my friend then too, then. I should have noticed it before. These days, I spend so much time on cases with you, it's almost impossible not to become close."

Instead of answering, Booth pulled Brennan in to another hug.

"Thanks for being my friend, Bones. It really means a lot to me." he said in to her ear. He felt a hot tear trickle down his neck, left there by his partner.

"Hey, I've got an idea." he said when he pulled away. "How about you come back to my place. You can spend some time with me and Parker."

"Booth, I don't want to intrude..."

"Don't worry about it, Bones. What kind of friend would I be if I let you spend the holidays alone?"

"All right. But only for a little bit. I still want you to have some time with Parker and Rebecca." Booth grabbed on to Brennan's arm and led her towards the garage because even through Booth's thick coat, she was still shivering.

"Come on, Bones. Let's go home for Christmas."

XXXXXXXX

"Daddy, daddy daddy!" the small boy from before leapt in to his father's arms as soon as he opened the door.

"Hey bub, what have you been up to?" Booth said while pulling his son in to a tight hug.

"Mommy and I made Christmas cookies! Come see!" Parker jumped out of Booth's arms and started to tug on his arms to pull him towards the kitchen, but Booth resisted.

"Parker, before I come to see your cookies, you have to meet someone very special to Daddy." he beckoned to Brennan to step in to the apartment. "Parker, this is Daddy's friend from work, Bones."

"Didn't we see her at the restaurant earlier?" the little boy asked.

"Yeah, we did. She decided to come back with me after I ran in to her on my errand." he put his arm around Brennan and smiled at her.

"Booth, that's not true. We didn't run in to each other-"

"Shhh, Bones." he put his finger to her lips. Just then, a blonde woman came out of the kitchen with an apron on with flour spattered on it.

"Parker, who's at the door?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Mom, it's just Daddy. And he brought a friend!" he pointed to Brennan.

"Hi Rebecca." Booth said. "This is my partner from work, Temperance Brennan." Brennan waved a hello. Rebecca beckoned them in to the kitchen where a plate of cookies was sitting on the table. She took four glasses out of a cabinet and set them at the table to fill with milk after they all took her seats.

"I thought you said her name was Bones" Parker turned to face his father with a confused expression on his face.

Booth sipped his milk, trying to think of a good way to respond. Finally, he put down his cookie and turned to face his son.

"Just to me, bud. Just to me."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

** How'd you like it? Any comments? Leave a review! **

** Please?**


	2. Two: Two Turtle Doves

**A/N: Hello again! Thanks to all the wonderful people who subscribed! However, I think that we can get a few more reviews than that... Just look at it this way: If you have to give a Christmas gift to a complete stranger, give them a review! **

** The gift for this chapter was inspired by one of my favorite Christmas movies ever: Home Alone 2! Well, that's mainly because of Tim Curry, but the message still sticks. Also, quick reminder that this is a chapter for a Christmas set in season 2, just in case y'all forgot. And since there was no Christmas ep for season two, I had to ad-lib a bit. **

** As always, enjoy!**

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Chapter 2: Two Turtle Doves

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She didn't know why she had decided to go away again. Maybe it was just to get away for a little bit.

Although, now that she thought about it, going on a dig in Guatemala with National Geographic wasn't exactly 'getting away for a little bit'. But it was Christmas time and she didn't really feel like spending it at home.

As usual.

This time, though, was a bit different. Zack had flown down to meet her, seeing as he didn't seem to have very much interest in spending Christmas with his family either. They were all avoiding him as much as possible now since he announced he was going to get his Doctorate in forensic anthropology and be spending the rest of his working years looking at dead bodies.

When he announced that he had no plans for Christmas, she felt a bit bad. She remembered what Booth had done for her last year by taking her home to spend time with his family, or what little family he had. Deciding to take a bit safer route, she invited him to Guatemala with her.

On Christmas Eve, Brennan sat in her dingy hotel room on the foot of the bed watching the television, even though she only found one channel in English. Zack was laid out on the bed drinking tea and half-listening as his eyes started to drift towards sleep. Twinkling Christmas lights shone in to the window from the streets below.

The evening news was on, and Brennan listened intently, to see if there was anything interesting going on in the DC area.

"Doctor Brennan, why don't you call Agent Booth?" Zack asked, dazed by the physical effects the dig was starting to have on his body. Brennan looked back at him, confused.

"Why would I do that? He's probably at home with his family where he belongs. Or at mass, knowing how religious he is." she turned back to the TV, only to see another story about the massive blizzard that was sweeping across America.

"I thought you two were friends. Isn't that what friends do, is call each other on Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah, Zack. But I'm sure he'll be just fine, even if I don't call."

"You never know. Maybe he was caught in that snow storm that was sweeping across the U.S. and died in a car crash."

"Zack, I don't think that would happen. Booth is a very adept driver. And very cautious." finally, a story of interest came on the news and Brennan cranked the volume up.

"_Here, in the DC area of the country, we are at the scene of a crime,"_ Indeed. The tall, blonde reporter was standing in front of a store front with all of the lights on and the windows smashed. "_This afternoon, what seemed like a petty thief tried to walk out of the store behind me with over $1,000 in merchandise. However, when he was caught by the security cameras he got violent. The man pulled out a gun and started shooting at the police officers who were on the scene. Among those, four were killed and several others injured."_

Brennan watched as they showed the security camera footage of the man sneaking out of the building, and then shooting at police officers. She was thankful that Booth rarely responded to these kind of calls.

"_Among the injured was an FBI agent who had gotten the call on his radio and was close enough to respond, Special Agent Seeley Booth."_

Brennan felt her stomach sink. The image on the screen now was taken from an outdoor security camera, and Brennan could make out Booth's familiar leather jacket and worn blue jeans amongst the policemen in their uniforms trying to detain the criminal. She watched in horror as he suddenly crumpled to the ground, engulfed by the other officers.

Zack craned his neck, and spotted Booth quickly too. He made a sympathizing face at Brennan, who just hung her head and sighed. But the reporter had more to say.

"_Luckily for the Agent, it was only a glancing blow to the shoulder. He is being treated at the George Washington University hospital, where he was rushed by EMTs. Unfortunately, he will have to stay overnight until they can assure that he is stable enough to go home. When asked about what he would miss most about Christmas Eve with his family, here is how the Agent responded:"_

The image on the screen changed. This time it was of Booth, sitting with his shoulder bandaged in a white hospital room in a bed with equally white sheets.

"Hey, it's Agent Booth!" Zack exclaimed, sitting up a little more, sloshing a bit of his tea down his shirt. He leaned back quickly when Brennan glared at him, obviously not happy about his outburst.

On screen, Booth was talking. "_Well, I guess what I'll miss the most is my son. His mother and I are not together anymore, and she's taking him to visit her family for the holiday. It was going to be just me and my brother, like normal. _

_However, another person that I'll definitely miss spending Christmas with is my partner from work, Temperance Brennan with the Jeffersonian Institution. Last year, she spent Christmas with my son and I and I truly felt blessed that she was there,"_

Brennan smiled. Last year had been amazing. Instantly, she remembered the partridge necklace that he had bought her, along with sharing cookies with him and his son and ex. She hadn't had a real Christmas in a long time, and she was thankful that that chance had come again. Along with that came memories of the lab lockdown and all the bad memories to go along with it, which weren't very heartwarming. Brennan looked back at the TV to see that Booth was still talking.

"_This year, she went to Guatemala on a dig for Christmas, which is a long way away. I was kind of sad that she decided to leave; She was the best part of my Christmas last year." _

The interview ended and the reporter went on to say that the robber was being held at the jail until further notice, but Brennan shut the TV off before the reporter could finish the story. Zack sat up again, concerned.

"Doctor Brennan, are you okay?" he asked tentatively.

"I'm fine. I just..." she cut the sentence short, leaving Zack confused.

"You just what?"

"I have to go home" Zack looked horrified.

"But Doctor Brennan! We're not scheduled to leave for another week! We can't just end right now, there's more to be found."

"But it's just like you said, Zack. Booth is my friend. I have to go home and see him. I have to spend Christmas with Booth."

Before Zack could protest, Brennan picked up her cell phone from the nightstand and called the airline.

XXXXXXXXX

"_Attention passengers, we are starting our descent in to the DC area. Please put your seats in an upright position and secure your tray tables." _

_Thank God, _Brennan thought. She had been able to get a flight out of Guatemala late on Christmas Eve, and had met her connecting flight from Dallas as scheduled. But by now, she had been on a plane for more than 5 hours and her legs were getting cramped.

In the seat next to her Zack dozed, his head lolling to the side just a bit. He had decided to come with her and see his family, even if they were all disgusted by him. Brennan laid her hand on his shoulder and shook lightly.

"Zack, we're landing soon." his eyes fluttered open and he threw his arms in the air in a stretch. His legs stiffened, trying to regain the blood flow.

"What time is it?" he said groggily, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"About six. DC is a completely different time zone than Guatemala. We're in the Eastern time zone, which means we're about an hour ahead of them." Zack smiled weakly, but his face was split by a huge yawn.

When they got out in to the terminal, Brennan and Zack parted ways; Brennan to claim her luggage and go see Booth, and Zack to catch a flight to Michigan to spend Christmas with his family, whether they liked it or not. On her way out, Zack pulled Brennan in to a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas, Doctor Brennan." he said with a smile.

"Merry Christmas to you, too. Or in Guatemala, they would say Feliz Navidad." Brennan said, patting Zack on the shoulder. "And tell your family that Forensic Anthropology is a completely acceptable field of work."

Zack waved goodbye, and Brennan was off. She hailed a cab and got in the back seat.

"To the George Washington University Hospital on 23rd, please." she said to the driver over the quietly playing Christmas music.

"What are you going there for? Sick mother or something?" the cab driver asked. In Brennan's opinion, he had no right to intrude on her private life like that, but she answered him anyways.

"No, I'm going to visit a friend."

XXXXXXXX

For a minute, he didn't know where he was.

The splitting pain in his shoulder woke him up, and left him a bit confused. He felt around to find that he was shirtless, and that his shoulder had a large gauze bandage attached to it with surgical tape. He found a needle was stuck in his arm, and was hooked up to an IV bag that was half full.

_What the hell is going on? _Booth thought.

But it was the indistinguishable hospital smell brought him back to reality. A brief glance at the glowing red clock on the table beside the bed told him that it was 6:10am.

Outside the large bay window, there was none of the usual hustle and bustle of DC, even at this hour. Because it was Christmas. Booth's shoulders sagged; he was alone for Christmas, yet again.

Booth could just make out the large flakes of snow falling right outside. That made him think of Parker, who was up north with Rebecca, which darkened his mood. He laid his head back down on the pillow and tried to get another few hours of sleep before he was discharged and could go home to greet his brother, who wouldn't be there until later.

A soft tap on his door made him shoot up in bed. He had been in this situation before, and hated when the nurse had to come in and adjust something. Even though it helped him heal, he always felt violated afterward.

The person on the other side of the door did not wait for a response, and just opened the door. Haloed by the light in the hallway, Booth could barely make out who was on the other side, even if he squinted. He saw the figure of a woman, tall and thin with long curly hair. Her clothes looked disheveled and dirty. But he wanted to see more. If only the light weren't so blinding. Thankfully, that moment passed when the woman shut the door quickly behind her.

She didn't speak. No 'How are you, Mr. Booth?'s or 'do you feel any better?'s. Booth was at least thankful that she wasn't a nurse.

The woman approached the side of his bed and sat down in the chair. Her breathing was slightly ragged as if she had come a long way to be here. Her arm moved towards him. Who was she?

But when she took his hand, he knew.

"Bones?" Booth's voice sounded gravelly. "How did you know?"

"I saw it on the news. I had to come home." she lightly stroked his knuckles with the pad of her thumb.

"But how did you-" Booth began, before Brennan put her finger to his lips.

"Shh, not now." Brennan handed Booth a shirt that lay on the chair by the door. "Come on. Let's get you home."

Booth smiled. He was spending another Christmas with Bones.

XXXXXXXX

"Bones, I'm not broken." Booth said as she helped him through the door of his apartment. But that wasn't even the first thing on her mind.

"Booth, where are all your decorations?" she asked. Booth was one of the most festive people she knew. Why didn't he have any decorations up? Not even a Christmas tree adorned the small living room.

"Well, it's just me and my brother this year, so I didn't really think that they were needed." he shrugged off his coat and hung it up. Brennan cranked the heat up.

"That wasn't my question." she turned to face him. "I asked where your decorations were." Booth rolled his eyes.

"They're in my closet." he pointed towards his bedroom. Brennan gladly went to retrieve them while Booth went to the kitchen to make himself some hot chocolate.

An hour later, the apartment was adorned with tinsel and bells and strings of dried cranberries. There were red and green streamers hanging from the ceiling and the mantle, and matching candles on the kitchen table. Booth sat on the couch as Brennan hung up the last of the tinsel and straightened the nativity scene on the mantle.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"I like it, but we still need a tree." Booth said, sipping his cocoa. Brennan looked in the last box, which was filled with ornaments.

"Well we do seem to have a lot of ornaments. I'll go get us one." and before Booth could protest, she was out the door.

Booth sighed. He was alone again. But this gave him a little time to finish his wrapping. He went to the bedroom and took a flat box the size of a CD case out of his dresser drawer. Some red wrapping paper and a green bow made it look more festive. But it still needed something. He took out a card and got a pen from the kitchen.

In his scrawling writing, he began to write.

_To Bones..._

XXXXXXXXXX

"Is that the last one?" Booth asked as Brennan handed him a colorful bauble.

"Yes, I think it is." Booth placed it delicately on a small branch of the thick tree that she had purchased on the side of the road. It bobbed up and down on the branch for a few minutes until it was stable.

"Great, now that that's done, it's time to put presents under it, starting with this." Booth took the small present that he wrapped earlier out from behind the pillow that he tucked it under and placed it delicately under the tree.

"What's that? Something for Parker?" she asked.

"I dunno Bones." Booth couldn't help from smiling. "Why don't you look on the card." Brennan took the box out from under the tree. Delicately, she took the card off the top and opened it.

The picture on the front was of two cuddling reindeer, one with a blue hat and one with a pink hat skating on a pond. They looked so happy together.

"It's you and me." he said with a small chuckle. Brennan nodded, smiling to herself and opened the card to find Booth's untidy handwriting.

_To Bones, _

_Another year has gone by as partners, and a lot has happened. We've won and we've lost. But what I want you to know this Christmas is that in my eyes, you're always a winner. Not just because we win every case that we work together, but because you came thousands of miles to see me just because you heard I got hurt on the news. When you open this, I want you to know that to me, you've been a great friend, and you're really special to me. _

_From your friend, _

_Booth. _

Brennan looked at Booth, but he just nudged her arm, encouraging her to open the package. Not wanting to wait any longer, she ripped open the paper and flung the lid on the couch.

"Thank you, Booth! They're really nice." In the box was two identical ornaments of turtle doves with their wings spread wide. "But why two?"

"Well, the tradition of the turtle doves is that you keep one, and you give one to someone very special." he took one of the turtle doves out of the box and hung it up on his tree. "And remember what I said in my card? You're really special to me. You keep this one," he beckoned to the ornament still in the box. "and I keep that one." he pointed to the turtle dove that now adorned his tree. "This way, you only have to look at the ornament to be reminded that I think you're special."

Brennan couldn't speak. She just pulled Booth in to a hug.

"This is really touching. I don't think that anyone has ever given me a gift this meaningful." she said when they pulled apart. Booth smiled wide, knowing that she liked his gift. "I'm sorry, but I was too busy planning my trip to Guatemala to get you anything."

"It's okay Bones. I don't need anything." Booth walked over to the kitchen to get a plate of cookies. Brennan followed.

"Why is that?" Booth set down the cookies and Brennan took one.

"Because all I wanted for Christmas was you."

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**Fah la la la la la la la review!**


	3. Three: Three French Hens

**A/N: Hey y'all! After a few days of waiting: it's here! Again, thanks to all the people who reviewed and added to their subscriptions! You're what keeps me going. I DO hope to finish this by Christmas, so hang in with me! So, yes this IS for season 3, and I just HAD to do something with the kiss, but that won't show up till later. This one also has a little intro, just reminding us all what happened at the end of the season 3 Christmas ep, just in case we're a little rusty. **

** Also, please don't be offended or anything if this chapter isn't what you expected; I wrote half of it while I was extremely tired and falling asleep, so it may not be as sharp as you wanted it to be. But anyways, enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: Three French Hens

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_The man listened as his friend asked if he was still there. He stood in the snow with his son at his side, and a Christmas tree that he bought for the woman on the other side of the closed shades of the trailer. _

"_Hey! Turns out I got my son for Christmas after all!" he said happily in to the phone. She could hear the smile in his voice. _

"_Christmas magic, right?" she asked. _

"_Hey, so we figured we'd come and, um, spread some Yuletide cheer!" he put the phone to his son's ear, who happily yelled "Merry Christmas!" _

_The woman in the trailer said "thank you." to the small boy. A man next to her; her father leaned across the couch to talk to her. _

"_Hey, if that's who I think it is, say 'Merry Christmas' for me." the woman nodded. _

"_My dad says 'Merry Christmas'" she said in to the phone. _

"_Hey, listen," said the man. "I,uh... I got a little something for you." He rocked back and forth slightly, trying to keep himself warm. _

"_I got you something too." the woman replied. "We can exchange gifts in a few days." The man shook his head. _

"_Just go to the window and open the blinds." he said. He stared at the window as if he could open the blinds with his eyes. _

"_What?" she asked. But she was already across the trailer and yanking open the blinds. _

_Outside, on the other side of the chain link fence stood her partner. He was next to his car, with a hand on his son's shoulder. He waved to her and she waved back. But what really made her smile was her gift. _

_A Christmas tree stood tall next to him, lit up with jumper cables from his car. She couldn't believe it. Her partner, the one that had put her father in jail in the fist place was helping to make him a perfect Christmas._

_The woman turned to her family. "Hey guys, looks like we got our tree after all!" The two young girls who were playing on the floor jumped up and rushed to the tree. _

"_What? A tree?" one shouted excitedly. _

"_Oh my gosh, so exciting!" the other said._

_The small boy standing with his father waved and said "Merry Christmas!"_

"_I love my gift," the woman said in to her phone again. She saw the man outside smile. _

"_Merry Christmas, Bones." Booth said in to his phone, waving at her figure in the window. _

XXXXXXXX

Brennan woke up in the morning, slightly dazed. The light streaming in from her bedroom window made her head pound. Stretching, she chalked it up to her father's "mattress cheer" from the night before.

She wandered in to the kitchen to make some tea and figure out what her day looked like. However, a quick glance at her calendar told her that she didn't have very much to look forward to; it was Christmas and no one was at the lab.

Brennan sat down at her kitchen table with a steaming mug and a cinnamon bun and sighed. _Just another lonely Christmas, _she thought. She looked around her apartment. Even though she had had a lovely Christmas get-together the night before, her house was as un-festive as always. Not even a single strand of tinsel.

It made her wonder if Booth had any of his decorations up, seeing that he didn't think he would have any company at Christmas.

_Nah, _she thought. _He probably put them up with Parker. _Even though she didn't want to admit it, Brennan was a bit lonely this year, seeing as she didn't expect to do anything with Booth. He had already given her a great gift, so there really was no need to see him. But then again, she hadn't expected to spend Christmas with Booth in the past.

Still, at the same time she was kind of glad. After she had been made to kiss Booth so her dad could get the trailer, she had felt a little awkward around him ever since. She couldn't stop thinking about the way that his lips felt against hers, the minty-cool taste of her moth colliding with the remnants of the coffee that he had had earlier.

Brennan wasn't one to think about these things, but it had been, as what Angela would have described it as "hot".

Finishing her tea, Brennan shoved the last of her cinnamon bun in to her mouth and looked out the window.

Overnight, DC had been coated in a thick blanket of white. The sky was still gray, and looked like it could start snowing again any minute. Even though Brennan never did like the snow, she decided it was somewhat pretty, the way the sun glinted off of it.

Jumping up from the table, she went to find a warm sweater and pants. Brennan had decided that, even though it was a holiday, the day wouldn't be wasted for her.

"Another Christmas in the lab," she mumbled to herself as she wrapped a scarf around her neck and grabbed her keys of the hook.

XXXXXXXXX

"All right, have fun in Vermont, Parker!" Booth said to his son, who had his face scrunched up in concentration as he pulled his boots on to his feet. His ex Rebecca waited by the door.

"I will, Dad!" said Parker, jumping up from his spot on the floor. He went to stand by his mother in preparation to leave.

"Take care of him," he looked at Rebecca when he said this. As usual, she just rolled her eyes.

"Do you really think I would let him get hurt?" she said bitterly. Ever since he had re-split up with her the year before, she had been a lot colder to him. He just glared at her, trying to get his message across. When she didn't respond, he kneeled down and looked at his son. "Be careful on the mountain, okay?" he said.

"I will, Dad!" Parker gave Booth the 'thumbs up' as Rebecca put her hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, let's go." she said. Booth was a bit sad to see him go, and held the door open for them.

"Bye Parker!" he yelled after his son. Parker turned back and waved to him "Merry Christmas!"

Shutting the door, Booth felt that familiar feeling of loneliness that had been very prominent in him last year. His heart sank and he stomped to the kitchen to get a plate of cookies that he and Parker had baked that morning and a large glass of eggnog, adding an extra splash of alcohol. He plopped down in front of the television and surfed channels until he found something good.

Booth stopped at a channel that was showing the cartoon version of the Grinch. Laughing a bit to himself, he remembered watching this with his mother and brother every year at Christmas time. He leaned back and watched.

After a while, Booth felt himself getting a slight buzz from the alcohol in the eggnog, which just made him even grumpier. Watching Christmas specials alone just reminded him of how alone he really was. He decided that Rebecca was the Grinch for taking away his son on Christmas. Booth swore that he felt his heart start to shrink.

As soon as the special ended, Booth's mood was just foul. He had a scowl on his face and slammed the 'off' button on the remote rather violently so he could put his dishes in the sink.

_Stupid Rebecca. Taking away my son like a Christmas tree and no one can stop her, _ he thought. Booth pulled another cookie out of the container and bit the head off of the brightly colored snowman with anger.

But then he got an idea.

_Maybe I just need a Cindy Loo Who, _he thought. _Someone to remind me what Christmas is all about; that all you need is just a little bit of love to enjoy the holidays. _And he knew exactly who to go to.

Booth grabbed his thick wool trench coat off of the hanger and threw on his hat. He couldn't care less about his slight buzz, and got in his car, thrust his key in the ignition, and cranked up the tunes.

Before he had left the house, he had put a small box under the tiny Christmas tree that he had set up with Parker.

His gift to Bones.

XXXXXXXXX

Brennan sat in her office, glad that it was completely silent. Other than the hum of the machinery, there was no other sounds. Well, except for when her iguana occasionally snorted. She typed furiously on her macbook, occasionally looking at the wall of post-its behind her.

When Booth peeked in the window to see if she was there, he knew exactly what she was doing. She was writing another novel. Being careful not to make her angry, Booth rapped softly on the door. Brennan's head snapped up. She was a bit surprised at his presence, especially since she thought that she was completely alone. Brennan beckoned for him to come in.

"Hiya Bones!" Booth said, a little more chipper than normal. Brennan shut the lid of her computer and turned her chair to face him. "Were you working on another novel?"

Brennan frowned at him. "Booth, it's not really any of your business. How did you know where to find me?"

"Ah, Bones. Ye of little faith." He put his finger up to make his point, but quickly put it down when Brennan gave him that look that told him to get to the point. "I knew that you would be alone for Christmas day, and this is where you go when you don't know where to go."

"But why did you come? You said you had Parker for Christmas." Booth shrugged.

"Kind of. His mother came and picked him up at noon, but it still gave us enough time to make some cookies and put up my decorations." he hung his head a little bit more dramatically than usual. Brennan knew something was up.

"Booth, have you been drinking?" she asked, a bit suspicious of his chipper mood despite Parker leaving.

"Um, well I guess I did put a bit of alcohol in my eggnog after Parker left..." he stopped after Brennan's eyes widened.

"Did you at least take a cab here?" Brennan was a bit worried now.

"No, I just drove." he caught the look on Brennan's face and continued what he was saying. "But that's not the point."

Brennan's eyes narrowed. "Then, again, why are you here?"

"Look. Without Parker, or my brother who is off with some woman, I'm all alone. And I know that you missed your plane to spend Christmas with your family. So why don't you come back to my house?"

"Booth, I really have a lot of work to do..." Brennan bit her lip to stop talking, knowing that Booth would immediately protest.

"Oh come on. You can do that tomorrow. Please, just come back to my apartment with me?" Brennan sighed. She knew that she really had no way out of this one. Shaking her head, she packed her laptop in to its case and slung it over her shoulder.

"Okay, let's go." she said, almost sad that she had to leave.

"Yay! Another Christmas with Bones!" Booth shouted with glee. Brennan just rolled her eyes.

Brennan tightened the corners of her mouth, annoyed. "But no more eggnog when we get there." she reprimanded. Booth groaned loudly.

"Yes, mom."

XXXXXXXXX

Booth opened the door to his dark apartment twenty minutes later and ushered Brennan in. The air was cold and she was shivering, even though Booth had given her his coat.

"All right! Take a seat and I'll make us some hot chocolate!" he beckoned towards the couch where Brennan sat down gratefully. "If you want, put one of those Christmas movies in." he pointed to a stack of DVDs that Brennan guessed he had around for Parker when he came for the holidays. Brennan selected a movie that she had never heard of called "the Polar Express". Judging by the high-quality work the directors did on animation, Brennan guessed that the movie was about six or seven years old. She sat back and watched as the young boy boarded the train to the North Pole.

"Here Bones." Booth handed her the mug of hot chocolate which Brennan took a large sip of as soon as she got it. It was scalding hot, so it burned all the way down her throat, but settled nicely in her stomach. "What are we watching?"

"Some movie I found in the stack called "the Polar Express". It seems to be more of a children's movie."

"Maybe that's because it is a children's movie." Booth retorted. "But I like it. It has a nice story." Brennan just yawned in response. Her head found its way on to his shoulder so she could curl up next to him. For the next half-hour they sat in a comfortable silence drinking cocoa and watching the movie.

Finally, Booth broke the silence. "Bones?" he asked.

"Yeah?" her head lifted off his shoulder so she could look at him properly.

"I, uh, I got you a gift."

"But what you gave me last night was perfect; more than I could have expected, Booth. I don't need anything else."

"No, Bones. I bought this a while ago because I just thought of you when I saw it." he crossed the room to the tree and plucked the small box out from under the tree. he then proceeded to hand it to her. Tentatively, she took it.

"You didn't need to do this, Booth. Really, it's okay." she looked up at him with her gorgeous blue eyes that he got lost in every time.

"Bones, please. Just open it." Brennan plucked the card off and opened that first. On the cover was a little wreath formed out of bones. Brennan smiled at that. On the inside, it got better.

_Bones, _

_Another year has gone by and we have become closer than ever. Together, we've figured out that we're the center. That we're strong. You also found out what family means to you. You skipped your flight to have Christmas with your family. I like that about you. Even though you're the smartest person I've ever known, you're still learning. _

_From your friend, _

_Booth. _

Opening the lid of the small box, Brennan gasped. Inside was a silver broach. The outside was in the shape of a circle and held what looked like three hens sitting on a branch in the middle.

"It's really nice, Booth. Thank you." she pulled him to a tight hug, throwing Booth a little bit off guard.

"You're welcome Bones. What are friends for?" his voice was a bit muffled from being pressed against her shoulder.

Breaking the hug, Brennan smiled. "Now I have to give you your gift."

"Okay, what do you have for me?" Instead of pulling something out of her coat or purse, she leaned her head in, in a motion to kiss him.

"Bones! What the hell are you doing?" he leaned back a bit.

"I know how much you liked it when we kissed under the mistletoe. This is my way of saying 'thank you' for convincing me to stay." she saw the look still lingering in Booth's eyes. "Just trust me." she whispered.

Brennan closed the distance between their lips, and Booth was dissolved in to her soft, chocolaty kiss.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

** What did you think of THAT ending? Like it? Hate it? Review, please!**


	4. Four: Four Calling Birds

**A/N: Hello again! I think that this has been my speediest update yet! A few things before we get on with the story: Again, part of this I wrote while trying to stay awake to watch _Silence of the Lambs_ at, like, one in the morning. I pretty much fell asleep with the computer in my lap. So again, if you're not as impressed with this one as the three before, don't worry. I'm not either. **

**Second, this chapter has a little more intimacy in it, which I have yet to figure out why I put it in here. Mostly it's just cuddling and kisses on the cheek, so don't get too worked up. Lastly, this gift was inspired by my absolute LOVE of the Beatles. As I'm writing this, I'm actually listening to the song that appears in this chapter. But anyways, enough of my rambling. Let's get on with Bones Christmas take four!**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Chapter 4: Four Calling Birds.

"Are you sure that you have to go away again, Bones?" Booth whined. His plate of pancakes sitting in front of him was practically forgotten since she told him of her Christmas plans.

"Oh come on, Booth. It's not like I've never gone away for Christmas." she took another bite of her fruit salad, chewing slowly, eying Booth.

"That may be true, but you always find a way to spend Christmas with me anyways." Brennan was getting a bit annoyed. It seemed that Booth would never get it through his head that she was going away again. She chalked it up to the fact that Rebecca was taking Parker again. "I think it would be good for me to stay away for once and concentrate on my work."

"Bones, please. Jared is away again and Rebecca is taking Parker skiing AGAIN. I'll be all alone." he pouted, leaned back in his chair and picked at his pancakes.

"That's not true. A bunch of our friends are staying at home for the holidays. Just spend the time with Cam, or Jack." Brennan finished her fruit salad and started on her oatmeal, slurping it in to her mouth a little bit at a time.

"But we spend Christmas together. WE. Humor me, Bones. Stay home for Christmas." Booth signaled to the waiter for another cup of coffee. In just a minute, a cup of steaming black coffee was placed in front of him, which he sipped at eagerly. His pancakes still went untouched.

"For the millionth time, I already have my plane tickets. My arrangements are already final. I'm going to Chile to help with another dig. This one should be really interesting; they found some skeletons from an ancient civilization that has yet to be identified. I think it would be interesting to see them; what they looked like, what they ate, what they wore..." Brennan was lost in her "Christmas wonderland", thinking about the fun that she would have spending time at the dig site for hours on end, like she did in the old days.

"Well, when do you leave? I want to at least be able to say goodbye before you do." Somehow, Booth's finger had found its way in to the syrup pooled at the bottom of his plate. He drew lines and swirls with it.

At least he could control the syrup.

He realized that Brennan was looking at him, so he licked the syrup off his finger and wiped it on his jeans.

"I'm afraid I leave tonight. And when I get home after this I have a lot to do to prepare, so we might as well say goodbye after we're done here." she shrugged and scraped her bowl clean.

"Well I'm not going to eat any more," he said bluntly, looking at his half eaten stack of pancakes with a look in his eye that suggested he was a bit queasy. Booth sat back in his chair and took a big gulp of the water that was served to them every time they say down.

"Booth, are you okay?" Brennan asked, concerned. She took out her wallet and threw a few bills on the table. "You look a little sick."

"No, I'm fine. Really. I'm just a bit sad that I'll be alone for Christmas." Booth said a little sourly as he and Brennan stood up to leave.

"Well, then I guess this is goodbye." she said. Booth didn't waste a minute in pulling her in to a crushing hug.

"_Merry Christmas" _he whispered in to her ear. She nuzzled in to the crook of his neck to smell the scent of his cologne; sweet and crisp with hints of cinnamon and cloves. Her lips brushed against his neck in what was just a ghost of a kiss. She felt him tense beneath her lips.

Brennan's arms fell to her sides, and she broke free from Booth to gather her purse and phone from the table.

"You can call me if you want," she said. "While I'm down there. If you ever want to check in." she laid her hand on his bicep briefly, letting his muscles ripple under her touch. "I'll be home the day before New Year's. I promise."

"Thanks Bones. I'll do that." even though his mouth was smiling softly at her, his eyes were filled with sadness. Brennan's hand left his arm and she made her way out of the restaurant.

The last glimpse of Brennan that Booth had was of her waving to him from outside the diner, flakes of snow swirling around her and clinging to her hair and coat. She looked beautiful with her cheeks rosy from the cold and her hair tucked neatly in to a hat. He watched as she got in the cab and drove away, sadness overcoming him.

It would be another year alone for him.

_Or would it?_ Booth whipped out his phone.

"Hi, I was wondering, what is the next flight with an open seat you have to Chile?

XXXXXXX

Finally, she was back where she belonged.

Brennan squinted in the midday sun as she stepped out of her rental car at the dig site. She looked around. There was people everywhere in the barren landscape that was just outside of Santiago, the capitol of Chile. There actually wasn't much to look at. She liked the way the dirt crunched underfoot as she made her way through the people to the supervisor.

"Hello. I'm Doctor Temperance Brennan." she said to a tall middle-aged man with a beard. He put out his hand for her to shake and she took it.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Stan Keating." he looked at his clipboard. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. We don't get a lot of people who want to come down over Christmas. Okay, so it looks like we have you stationed over there to start cleaning for the bones that we've already dug up for you." he pointed over to a tarp that had at least four sets of remains laid out on it. Around it, people were digging cautiously, looking for more bones.

"Okay thank you." she said and made her way over.

Squatting down by the side of the remains, she took out her tape recorder to start making notes.

"First victim looks small, maybe about the size of a child. About eight or nine years old by the development of the molars. Race undetermined, although he is thought to be of a tribal descent. A nick from what looks like a knife on one of the ribs seems to be the cause of death." Brennan sat back on her heels.

_He's just about as old as Parker, _she thought, but tried to shake that thought from her head. She didn't want to think about Booth right now; she had to focus on work.

Throughout the rest of the day, Brennan kept hard at work. She cleaned and recorded information on the existing bones and the new ones that were discovered. By the end of the day, the hot sun and the tedious work had taken their toll and Brennan found herself just getting in the car at almost seven. Her stomach growled viciously.

But for some reason, she couldn't help but think about Booth; how he had felt so sad when she had to leave for the holidays. Christmas Eve was the next day, and she had a full day of work ahead of her, so she headed straight to the city to a great little cafe, her mind still on Booth. She thought about calling him, but pushed that thought to the back of her mind as she sat down with a coffee and a sandwich.

But what she didn't realize was that thousands of miles away in DC, Booth was boarding a plane to Chile.

XXXXXXX

Christmas Eve again, and Brennan wasn't much better off than two years before. Her body was beginning to feel the toll that the dig was having on her, and her eyelids were half shut with fatigue.

She was in her small hotel room Santiago, which was a lot nicer than the room she had had the last time she had gone on a dig. The bed was soft and the sheets clean. Everything was spotless and cozy. Lying in bed listening to the news program on TV with the warm, fresh summer breeze from the cracked window was almost intoxicating; making her eyelids droop and nearly falling asleep. She wasn't even registering what the reporter on the TV was saying,

However, just as she was falling asleep, there was a knock at the door. It didn't register in Brennan's mind at first, she was so tired. But then when she had thought that it was a dream, she heard it again. This time, it was accompanied by a voice.

"Bones?" it said. Brennan thought she must be dreaming. Why would Booth be here? Her eyes fluttered shut, not bothering to think about it further.

Then it came again.

"Bones, open up!" Booth's voice echoed in her ears, accompanied by a rapping on the door. Deciding to be a good person, Brennan went to the door and yanked it open, a little annoyed.

Outside, Booth stood in front of her door. He wore another pair of jeans and a tee, and had a suitcase in his hand. "Heya Bones. Can I come in?" Behind Booth, red, green and yellow lights twinkled merrily.

"Booth! What the hell? I said that I wanted to be here alone." she almost slammed the door in his face, but thought better of it. "Why did you come?"

"Because, Bones," he started, shimmying past Brennan in to her hotel room. He looked around to see the one bed. That would be a problem. "I really didn't want to be alone for Christmas. Please, just trust me on this. I won't be a hassle." Booth set his stuff on a chair and flopped on the bed. Brennan closed the door and sat tentatively on the edge.

"Didn't you at least try to talk to Rebecca about letting Parker spend some time with you?" she asked, looking at Booth who was busy making himself comfortable on the large bed.

Booth shrugged. "She wouldn't listen to me. She never really listens to me." he laid his head down on the pillow which Brennan had been using only a few minutes ago. It smelled of her perfume and shampoo. He liked that smell. "So I just got a plane ticket here, which believe it or not, the plane that I got on late last night was the only one for a week coming here from DC. It was almost full, too, when I bought my ticket." Booth smiled to try and get Brennan in a better mood, but failed miserably.

"Booth, that's not the point. Why couldn't you just leave me alone?" she crossed her arms and glared at Booth.

"Because, Bones. I would get lonely. I've been lonely on Christmas for too many years. You shouldn't have to be alone either." Booth pulled on Brennan's arm and coaxed her in to lying down next to him, her back to him. Booth put his arm around her waist. He could feel her practically shaking with tiredness and fatigue. "Bones, maybe you should get some rest."

Booth got up from the bed for a minute. He quickly changed his clothes in a corner so Brennan wouldn't see and brushed his teeth quickly. He picked up the remote and turned off the television and the overhead light so only the lamp was on.

"Booth?" Brennan's voice came softly from the bed. He turned to face her.

"Yeah Bones?"

"I'm not mad that you came." she said. Brennan lifted her head off her pillow to look at him, her eyes not as icy as before. She smiled slightly, even though her eyes were half-shut. Booth crouched by her on the floor next to the bed and cupped her face in his hand.

"It was impossible for me not to come." he whispered. "It's not Christmas without you, Bones."

Getting up, booth walked back around to his side of the bed and pulled back the covers. He wrapped the nice fuzzy blanket around them and turned off the lamp.

"Goodnight, Bones." he said softly. His hand lay to rest at her waist again and he pulled her close to him. He inhaled her sweet scent.

Booth's soft snores soon filled Brennan's ears. She felt her eyelids finally grow heavy enough to close.

"_Goodnight Booth," _she whispered before sleep finally overcame her.

XXXXXXXX

Booth woke up to sunlight streaming in through the windows. Running his fingers through his hair roughly, he looked around, a little fuzzy on the details of where he was.

He was obviously in a hotel room. The small room looked too nice and clean to be someones personal room. A window was open and a warm breeze came in through it. But what shocked him the most was who was in the bed with him.

Booth looked down in surprise to see his partner sleeping soundly. She looked so perfect with her hair fanned out on the pillow, her chest rising and falling softly with each breath. Booth looked down to see his hand resting on her hip.

He tried to get out of bed as quietly as possible to get some water. His throat was parched from sleeping with his mouth open. He went in to the bathroom and turned on the light.

In the mirror, Booth saw what he usually saw. A tall, handsome man with a square jaw and beautiful chocolate eyes stared back. A few deep wrinkles ran through his face that hadn't been there in past years.

But there was something different. Booth could see the happiness that twinkled in his eyes. Christmas day usually had that effect on Booth, especially if he spent it with someone special to him. Booth turned on the faucet and let the cool water run in to his cupped hands. He drank one, two, three handfuls quickly.

When he came back out in to the bedroom, Brennan was stirring. He quickly kneeled down to his suitcase and pulled out a small box that he had packed before he left.

"Booth?" Brennan's sleep-filled voice hit his ears. He turned to her.

"Merry Christmas, Bones." he said, getting back in to bed with her. She sat up and put her head delicately on his shoulder.

"What's that, Booth?" she asked, seeing the box in his hand.

"Just a little something for my Bones on Christmas." he held the box out to her and she took it carefully. She yawned and rubbed her eyes much like a child would, and then carefully took the card off of the box.

_Bones, _

_It's kind of become a tradition of ours to spend Christmas together, hasn't it? This year when you said that you weren't going to be in town, I almost gave up on you. I was a little greedy with my wishes for you to stay. I know that being at digs makes you happy, and I get that. But Christmas just doesn't feel right without you._

_When I picked this out, I thought immediately of your experience with this holiday. You gave up on it, but learned to love it again because now, you always have someone to spend it with. I hope you like it as much as I do. _

_With love, _

_Booth. _

_That was new, _Brennan thought. Booth usually signed his cards with 'have a Merry Christmas' or something corny like that. She supposed that he had always given her gifts with love, but this was the first time that she was really aware of that.

Slowly, Brennan lifted the top off the box to find another box, this one made of wood. She tipped the container and let the box fall in to her palm. It was a little bigger than her hand and had a black and white painting of what she guessed was a blackbird on it. It was lovely, but Brennan was a bit lost. She looked at Booth with questioning eyes.

"What is the significance of this?" she asked. Booth took the box from her hands and held it up.

"You have to open it, like this." Booth pulled the top open delicately. On the inside, the box wasn't really a box at all; it had a glass covering over the part where stuff was supposed to go. She looked inside to see some mechanical contraption. The inside of the lid depicted four blackbirds sitting on a branch, their moths wide open in song.

Booth reached on the side of the box where a small golden knob was embedded in to the box. He cranked it a few times and the metal parts in the box started moving. A song began to play softly; a tune that Brennan vaguely recognized.

"It's a music box," she said. "It's beautiful, Booth." she put her hand on his shoulder and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "Thank you."

"Christmas isn't complete without you, Bones. You know that." Booth sat in back of her and put his arms around her. "Do you recognize the tune?" he asked. But then again, it was Bones.

"I've heard it before," she said. "But not really." Booth sighed.

"The real song is mostly guitar and singing, but I think it's pretty clear what the song is." looking at Brennan's blank expression, Booth rolled his eyes. He cranked the knob again and started to sing.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night, _

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly,_

_All your life, _

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise. _

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**What did you think? Leave a comment!**


	5. Five: Five Golden Rings

**A/N: Hello all! It's been a while! It's been a little hectic here, with me procrastinating to watch AVPS on Youtube and IM with friends and send E-Cards... But enough of that. Enjoy the story!**

**XXXXXXXXXX**

Chapter 5: Five Golden Rings

XXXXXXXXXX

_Max looked across the table at his beautiful daughter. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and her hair seemed curlier than normal at the ends. "Tempe, this is your gathering. Would you like to say something?_

"_Oh, um," the woman said, standing shyly. "Thank you everyone for coming, let's eat!" she sat down again quickly. Everyone looked at her a bit strangely. _

"_No, honey. I mean, maybe you'd like to say something about Christmas?" he said, smiling at her like only a father would. _

"_Okay," she said, standing again. "Christmas has its roots in the Pagan holiday of Saturnalia, which is commonly celebrated by intoxication, naked singing, and the consumption of human-shaped biscuits." _

_The man next to her wearing a faded leather jacket stood up alongside with her. "I think what Bones is trying to say here is that we're all happy that we're together." the woman faced her. _

"_We're all together every day." she said in a matter-of-factly tone._

_The woman named Margaret who looked a lot like her that was sitting across from her interjected. "No, not me. I'm not here every day." Max looked over at her. _

"_It's a different kind of together." _

_The man in the leather held up his cup in a toast. "To family, friends, lovers, family and food!" he said and everyone raised their glass. The woman next to him, however looked at him again. _

"_You said family twice. It's repetitious." she said. _

"_It's still a good toast, though." he said. "Cheers."_

"_Cheers." the woman said. _

_Almost everyone around the table joined in a chorus of "Cheers!" and "Merry Christmas!"_

_Margaret piped up as soon as the joyous cheers died down. "What do we do now?"_

"_Let's say a prayer." the man in leather said and was once again greeted by a scornful look from the woman beside him. _

'_No, no prayer. Not in my house." she said. _

"_Bones, I always pray!" he whined. _

"_Maybe just a moment of silence." she decided. _

"_Hold hands." around the table, hands were clasped together to celebrate the moment of silence. But the silence was broken when the man spoke._

"_Silent night." Booth cracked one eye to look at his partner, who smiled warmly._

XXXXXXXXX

"Booth, you really didn't need to do this." Brennan said, picking up the leftover dishes from the dinner. People had been trickling out for the last fifteen minutes now, and now the only people that remained were Brennan, Booth, Max and Brennan's cousin Margaret, who at the moment was sitting at the table looking through a book that Brennan had gotten her about Benjamin Franklin. Max was nowhere to be seen, but from the snores emanating from the living room, she was sure that he had gone to bed. Or passed out watching some sporting event on television.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Bones. I would do this for anyone." He looked at her from his post at the sink, where he was scrubbing dishes, his arms submerged in the hot, bubbly water.

"Really?" she asked. "I thought that there were people that you didn't like, so you offering to clean up or them would be against what you think about the person."

Booth rolled his eyes. "Thank you for that. Hand me that dish?" he pointed to a plate that was resting just out of reach. "My hands are a little soapy."

Brennan handed over the plate to him, but somehow it managed to slip out of his grasp and fell to the ground, smashing on the tile floor. Margaret looked up from her book for a second slightly alarmed, but settled back in to her seat, putting her nose back in to her book like before.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, Bones!" Booth said, stooping to clean up the fragments. "My hands were a bit slippery. I haven't been as coordinated since my operation..." he trailed off. Brennan looked at him with her sharp blue eyes, taking the broken dish and throwing it in the trash bin.

"Or maybe," she said, "you just put too much soap in the water." She was right. The bubbled came up to the edge of the sink, and the water only filled about half of it.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Booth took his hands out of the water, noting how thick the bubbles that clung to his skin were. "I shouldn't be able to do this-" he said gleefully, reaching his arm out and smearing some of the bubbles on Brennan's nose.

"Hey!" she said, wiping the bubbles off her nose. "What was that for?"

"I thought it would be funny." Booth said. "But, now that I think about it, it's kind of the thing that Parker would do." He hung his head, a bit embarrassed. But when he looked up, Brennan was smiling.

"I didn't say it wasn't funny..." Brennan giggled. "But maybe this will be funnier," she scooped a handful of bubbles and splatted it on his face.

"Jeez, Bones!" Booth said with a raised voice, wiping the white foam off of his face with a towel. "Now you're going to pay." he scooped up a handful of the suds and flung it at Brennan, most of it floating to the floor. She shrieked and grabbed some of the suds, dumping them on his head.

For the next ten minutes, the kitchen was a flurry of white suds as the partners covered each other with bubbles, laughing the whole time. The sink that was full of suds just minutes before had been reduced to nothing but the tepid water that lay beneath, but that didn't really stop them. Booth just picked up a Tupperware container and started dumping the cooling water over Brennan's head, who shrieked proceeded to do the same. Margaret had even moved to the living room so she wouldn't be showered with the foam herself. It was only when Brennan looked around ans saw the mess that they had produced that she stopped the fight.

"Booth, look at this mess!" she whined. "You have to help me clean it up." Brennan looked him with stern eyes, but he showed no sign of giving up.

"Why? It's not my house." Booth grinned at her, knowing that it would annoy her to say something like that. She pursed her lips tightly and smacked him with a wet dishtowel.

"You're the one that started it. Besides, you said that you would help in the first place." she threw booth a roll of paper towels and motioned for him to get down and start wiping the floor.

After a few minutes of silent cleaning, Booth spoke. "Bones, I'm sorry about the mess. I was just trying to have a little fun." He looked up at her, but she was still hard at work wiping the counters clean. "Come on, Bones. I said I'm sorry." He waited for a response, feeling the cold water that was dumped on his head dripping down his back. "Bones?"

"I heard you the first time." she said sourly. "Keep cleaning." she didn't even look at him.

"Was it because of my joke?" he asked.

"What joke?"

"When I said I wasn't going to help. I was joking."

"I know that." she snapped. "Please, just help me clean up."

A long time passed by and she didn't speak. Margaret wandered in to the kitchen at one point to get a drink, but walked back out when she saw the mess. It was only when the kitchen looked spotless and the dishes were all put in the drying rack that Brennan spoke again.

"You're dripping all over the floor. Let me get you a towel." she was right; Booth could feel the warm, slightly dirty water still dripping down him grossly. Worst of all, it was starting to dry, and was making his clothes rather uncomfortable. Brennan left for a few minutes, then returned with two towels, one for her and one for Booth. She gently unfolded the towel and wrapped it around Booth's shoulders.

"Thanks, Bones." he said softly, smiling slightly. Brennan unwrapped her own towel and wrapped it around her. She went to the refrigerator and took out what was left of the eggnog and set it on the counter. She took two glasses out and ladled a generous helping in to each and handed one to Booth.

Sipping lightly at his eggnog, Booth had a thought. "Tomorrow's Christmas," he said. Brennan looked over at him, not exactly coldly, but not with a smile on her face either.

"I know that, Booth." she said. "Since this was my Christmas Eve dinner."

"That's not my point." Booth shivered slightly, cursing the draft from the large kitchen windows. "Since Parker's gone with his mother," Booth said that with a disgusted sneer, "We should do something special. How about you come over tomorrow, and we can bake cookies and watch some Christmas movies or something?"

For the longest time, Brennan didn't answer. Booth wondered if she was still mad at him, but pushed that aside when he saw her shivering from the draft. He walked over to her and put his arm around her, trying to keep the heat in her body.

"Okay." she said, softly, finally.

"What's that, Bones?" Booth leaned in closer, so she could whisper in his ear.

"Okay."

XXXXXXXXXX

An annoying pounding woke him from a deep slumber.

"Goway." Booth mumbled in to his pillow, flopping his arm uselessly on to his mattress.

A few minutes later, the pounding continued, making Booth even more confused. Where was it coming from? He lifted his head up, blinking his eyes blearily. He reached a hand up and rubbed his face roughly with his palms.

Suddenly, the pounding stopped. Booth was thankful for that and thumped his head back down in to the pillow. Then he heard the door open and close. That got Booth moving.

Oh god, there was someone in his apartment.

Slowly, Booth grabbed the gun from the drawer in his night stand and crept out of bed. Holding it out at arm's length, he crept in to the living room, waiting for the invader to show his or her face.

Warily, he continued in to the the kitchen doorway. He could just see a sliver of the intruder, who was around the corner. Booth crept in to the kitchen, standing by the stove with his finger on the trigger.

But when the intruder came around the corner, Booth threw the gun on the counter in shock.

"_Bones?" _he asked. "What are you doing here?" Brennan whipped around, her ponytail falling over her shoulder.

"You said I could come and bake cookies with you," she said, gesturing to the bag that she had brought with cookie decorating materials, and some of the extra eggnog that was left over from the night before.

Booth looked at the clock on his microwave. 7:30.

"Not at seven thirty in the morning!" he said, exasperated. "You almost gave me a heart attack! How did you get in?"

Brennan rolled her eyes. "I noticed that you still have that false rock by your door. I told you it wouldn't fool anybody." Booth picked up a navy blue robe that was hung over a chair and wrapped it around himself.

"Here, why don't you make some coffee while I go get dressed." Booth said, a little embarrassed that he was in his boxers. Brennan nodded and started fiddling with his Keurig.

Back in his bedroom, Booth stripped off the robe and stood in front of his mirror in his boxers. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He yawned and stretched, almost touching the ceiling with his hands, and then tried again to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh Bones, what am I going to do with you?" he laughed lightly, pulling his favorite tee out of his drawer.

Booth put on his favorite jeans; the fabric was well-worn and felt nice against his slightly rough skin. The pockets were deep; deep enough to fit the box that Booth had pulled out of his dresser. The card was small and slightly smushed from sitting in with his socks for about a week.

He pulled on his favorite tee, a thin gray one with a faded image of the Beatles on it and ran a comb lightly through his hair. He patted his pocket that had the present in it and opened the door.

XXXXXXXX

"Here, Booth." Brennan handed him a steaming cup of black coffee in his 'World's Greatest FBI Agent' mug. She snorted a bit when she pulled out of the cupboard. She didn't need a mug to know how great he was. Booth took the mug and poured a large amount of it in to his mouth.

"Thanks, Bones. You're really great, you know that?" he smiled warmly at her. "Maybe I should get you a mug that says 'World's Greatest Forensic Anthropologist' on it." Brennan set a plate down in front of him with eggs and toast on it.

"Here, eat this. You should eat something." she said, handing him a napkin and a fork. She sat down across from him at the table and spooned some of the oatmeal that she made herself in to her mouth.

For the rest of the meal, Brennan and Booth sat and talked merrily. Brennan told her about how, when she was going to leave for his house, Margaret woke up and asked where she was going.

"When I told her I was going to see you, she thought that I was lying about us not sleeping together. Isn't that silly?" Brennan chuckled.

Soon after, Booth picked up his plate and her bowl and put them in the sink. "I'll get it later," he said. Sliding back in to his seat, Booth pulled the box from his dresser out of his pocket. "First, there's something I want to give you," Booth set the box on the table and slid it over.

"I've almost come to expect this from you, Booth." Brennan chuckled a bit to herself. She removed the card from the bow and ripped it open.

This year, a picture of cartoon birds wearing hats and sitting on a telephone wire adorned her card. "Merry Christmas!" it said. Not wishing to wait any longer, Brennan flipped open the card and read.

_Bones, _

_Five years from this day (or would it be four?), when I looked at you; your face when you had opened my gift, the way you shivered in the cold December air... I knew from that point that we were going to be friends. Five years later, and here we are. Friends, colleagues, practically family. Here's something that celebrates five years of friendship. _

_From your partner with love, _

_Booth. _

Brennan looked at her partner, lost for words. It was nice how he remembered the first Christmas they had together.

"Open it," Booth said softly, his eyes twinkling. Brennan lifted the lid of the box and gasped softly.

Inside were five thin gold rings. She picked up each one, which was engraved with a different word.

"Each one has a word on it that I would use to describe you." Booth's voice rang softly in her ears as she carefully picked up each ring.

_Passionate,_

_Caring,_

_Hardworking, _

_Inspirational, _

_Extraordinary. _

"They're beautiful, Booth." Brennan smiled at Booth. She looked so much like she did five years ago, thankful for having someone to spend the holiday with. She slipped the ring that said 'Extraordinary' on her ring finger and stared at it lovingly and crossed around and wrapped her arms around Booth.

"Thank you, Booth. I love it." she said in to his ear. Her warm breath felt good on the skin there, entrancing him.

Breaking away from the hug, Booth stood up.

"You're welcome Bones." he shot her a twinkling smile. "How about we bake some cookies?"

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Reviews were a bit down on the last two chapters... I think you know what I'm going to say. **


	6. Six: Six Geese a Laying

**A/N: This chapter was really fun to write for, so I hope it's just as fun to read! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 6: Six Geese a Laying

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"Bones, I'm so _sorry,_" Booth said, the wind swirling white flakes around his head. The light from the overhead street lamps made them twinkle. In front of him stood his partner, the tears on her face glinting in the light.

"Five years Booth. Every year for five years you've stayed when no one else would." She sniffed and wiped the tears from her face with her mitten. "You taught me to have fun on the holidays again. And now you blow me off?" Her face was red from the wind and she was shivering. Booth tried to put his arm around her to soothe her, but she stepped away from him. "Why?"

"It's my first Christmas with Hannah. I think that, with the relationship we have going, she deserves to spend Christmas with me. I'm taking her to New York so on New Year's we can see-"

"I don't care where the hell you're going." Brennan interrupted, her voice shaky. She stepped on to the curb to hail a taxi. "I'm going home." she wiped the tears out of her eyes, trying to keep control. But for some reason, it was really hard for her.

"Wait, Bones." Booth said, pulling her back on to the sidewalk. "Come on now. I'm sure that Angela and Hodgins would love to let you spend Christmas with them. Don't be mad." he gently wiped a tear from Brennan's face with the back of his hand and cupped her jaw in his hand. "I was yours on Christmas for five years. I would like to give Hannah that chance. Just once." Booth kissed her cheek lightly. He felt Brennan tense under his lips, her jaw clenching.

"I just... I don't know what to do without you now." Brennan sputtered. Booth put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm sure you'll find something to do. Just trust me on this Bones. I'll be home before you know it." she nodded solemnly, pushing her bangs away from her red eyes.

As soon as Booth took his hand off of her shoulder, Brennan hailed a cab and opened the door, thankful for the warmth inside. But before she could close it, a hand came between the door. "Bones, hold up." Booth's warm voice said. She could see him through the window. His eyes begged her to let him say something.

"What now, Booth? I really would like to get home." Brennan felt drained from the day. She and Booth had wrapped up a rather difficult case right before the holidays, but it was crying that made her realize how tired she really was.

"Just... before I go, take this." Booth thrust a colorful gift bag in to her hand. "I don't care when you open it." Booth tried to smile at her, but Brennan's face still looked steely.

"Okay. Thanks Booth. Have fun with Hannah." she mumbled. Booth was barely able to get his hand out of the door fast enough for her to slam it shut and drive away.

From his view on the curb, Booth saw Brennan's silhouette in the back of the cab. He waved to her and smiled a bit. She waved back.

_This is it, _Brennan thought. _We've had the last of our Christmas years together. _

XXXXXXX

Three days later it was Christmas Eve.

Booth and Hannah were a few hundred miles away from DC, enjoying the crisp December air of New York. They sat at a bar, where they had gone from just coming from a performance of the Nutcracker.

"Musicals really aren't my thing," Booth griped to Hannah as he took a swig of his beer. She laughed and looked at him.

"Maybe that's because the Nutcracker is a ballet." she chuckled. "And I thought it was wonderful. Especially the lead. She was charming." Booth rolled his eyes.

"Sure, Hannah. Whatever you say my love." he cooed, almost mocking her. She just smiled and nibbled at the peanuts in the bowl beside her.

"So, what's Parker doing for Christmas?" Hannah said, changing the subject. Booth's jaw tightened.

"He's um, out of town again. This is the third year that Rebecca has done this to me." Booth set his beer down on the counter a little harder than normal making Hannah flinch.

"You don't like it when you don't get to see your son for Christmas, do you?" she asked, sweeping her blonde curls out of her face. Booth's head sagged.

"It's the worst thing in the world. Every time Parker's around, it feels like I have a real family." He saw the look on Hannah's face and added, "I mean, sure I like it when you're around too. You're a really nice woman, but sometimes it's just not enough. You know what I mean?" Booth looked at Hannah expectantly and she nodded slowly.

"What about Temperance? You're really close to her too, right?" Booth looked a little pained by this.

"Yeah, her too. We've been friends for a while and, to tell you the truth, out of the past five Christmases, I've been with her every single one." he sighed deeply, letting out a huge breath of air. "She was pretty torn up when I said that I wasn't going to be there for Christmas."

"Well, hasn't she gone away for Christmas on digs in the past?" Hannah pointed out.

"Yeah, but I was really the one that put Christmas together for her every year." Booth sniffed a bit, and Hannah could tell that it wasn't just Brennan that was torn up about not seeing him for Christmas. "She, um, she told me before I left with you that I was the one that really made her believe in Christmas again; the one that helped her come out of her shell and really enjoy Christmas for the first time since her parents left. It's kind of sad, knowing that I won't see her again this year." Booth could feel the prick of hot tears in his eyes when he said this.

"Seeley..." Hannah stammered. She had never really seen him cry before and she was a bit scared. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said shakily. "Just... the past five years I've been with Bones... and they've been the best five Christmases of my life. And Hannah, even though I'm very glad to be here with you, it just doesn't feel right without Bones. " Booth wiped the tears from his eyes and took out his wallet. "How much?" he asked the bartender.

"What now?" Hannah asked him as he led her out of the bar and in to the streets of the city. "Back to the hotel?"

Booth shook his head. "Hannah, I need to ask you something." he said. She nodded, seeing the sadness in his eyes. "Look, these past few days in the city with you have been really great. But..." Booth trailed off.

"But what Seeley? You know that you can tell me anything." Hannah rubbed Booth's back affectionately, trying to comfort him.

"I need to go home." he said. Hannah stopped rubbing his back, looking confused. "I'm really sorry Hannah, but Christmas just isn't the same without Bones. She's become as much of a part of Christmas as having Parker has." Hannah sighed.

"I suspected that this was coming." she said. "I just wasn't sure whether you would have the courage to tell me that you wanted to go home." Hannah smiled at him. "Go home, Seeley. I can't keep you here if you're heart's not in it."

Booth smiled widely at Hannah and pulled out his phone. He pulled Hannah in to a tight hug, nuzzling in to the soft skin of her neck.

"Thanks, Hannah." he said, dialing the number of the airline. "You really are the best."

XXXXXXXX

Brennan slammed her laptop closed. She couldn't concentrate on anything, especially her new novel.

It was Christmas Eve and she felt like the loneliest person in the world. Booth was in New York with Hannah and the distance between them was almost suffocating.

Brennan got up and made herself a cup of tea, watching absentmindedly as the tea mixed with the water, turning it a dark crimson color. She sat down on her couch and stared out the window, watching the flurry of white flakes pass the world by. There was none of the usual noise from the street below, just the sound of the wind blowing by.

She couldn't take it any more. Brennan got up and put the radio on, just to have something to listen to. Warbled Christmas carols came out of the speaker and that made her feel a bit better, but it just wasn't the same.

Getting up again, Brennan went to her bedroom. In the darkness, she yanked open her closet door and crouched down, feeling in the dark for the crinkle of tissue paper. Finally, she pulled out the now slightly battered gift that Booth had given her a few days earlier. She had thrown it in the closet because she was too disgusted with Booth for leaving her on Christmas.

Setting the gift down on her coffee table, Brennan poured herself another cup of tea and sat down on the couch, staring at the gift. Every year, he had given her her present on Christmas day, and almost every year, he had been there when she opened it. But not this time.

Shakily, Brennan took out the card and opened it. She looked around, expecting to see Booth sitting there, watching her open the card with a smile on his face, his eyes twinkling.

But then she remembered that she was alone. Brennan ripped open the card and looked at the front.

This time, it wasn't a store bought card. It was one that Booth had made himself, on his computer. The front was a picture of the two of them together a few Christmases ago, both with Santa hats on and smiling widely. She remembered when they had that took. It was a happy time for her.

She opened the card, not knowing what to expect.

_To Bones, _

_I know that by the time you open this, I'll be gone with Hannah. I know that you'll probably hate me for doing this to you on Christmas. You know, it's kind of funny. You leave and I bear my punishment in silence. I leave and, well, you'll probably freak out. I'll be in New york with Hannah when you open this, but when you get this, think of me. _

_Your best friend always, _

_Booth. _

When she finished the card, she knew something was wrong. For the past two years, Booth has been signing the card with 'love' or 'with love'. This time, he just signed it with 'your best friend'.

Was he backing away?

Shrugging it off, Brennan tore the tissue paper out of the bag to find a small box. She took the lid off and flung it carelessly to the side and gasped.

Booth had given her a few pieces of jewelry for Christmas that she still wore intermittently. But the earrings that were in the box were beautiful.

Each earring was shaped in to a small upside-down 'V' of three stone geese that were carved from a beautiful purple rock. The ear piece that they hung from was silver and shiny.

"Wow," Brennan whispered to herself. She pulled out her current earrings that were shaped like small presents for the holiday season and put them in. They hung heavily from her ears, but Brennan couldn't care less. She got up and looked in her bathroom mirror, where her conclusion was the same.

They were beautiful.

Picking up the wrappings, Brennan turned off her lights. She stripped off her heavy sweater and sweat pants and pulled on some pajama pants and an old tee. She carefully took her new earrings out of her ears and laid them delicately on her vanity and got in to bed.

Pulling the covers up around her neck, Brennan hugged her pillow tight as she drifted towards sleep.

"Thank you Booth," she whispered, before her body was overcome with sleep.

XXXXXXX

He stood outside her apartment, debating whether or not to knock. She had to be sleeping. He had come straight from the airport and he had his suitcase with him, which was becoming heavy at the end of his arm.

Booth sighed. He knew that it was early, but he had to see her. He remembered the second Christmas they spent together, after he had been shot and she helped him home. She would probably like it if he came home early... Wouldn't she?

Booth gave up on the knocking idea and pulled his keys out of his pocket, thumbing through each one until he found the key to her apartment. He quietly put it in the lock and turned, letting himself in.

Well, he was right. When Booth walked in to the apartment, he didn't coffee brewing or water running, or any sign that his partner was awake yet. He quietly set his suitcase down on her couch, thankful to not be carrying it anymore. His suspicions were confirmed when he ventured in to her bedroom and saw her, curled up under her comforter which was almost pulled all the way over her head. Brennan's hair was spread out on her pillow, just like he remembered it being two years ago and she looked absolutely stunning.

"No one should look as beautiful as you, Bones." Booth whispered. He enjoyed the way her pale skin contrasted the dark comforter in the early morning light. Booth looked over at her vanity and saw the earrings that he got her, which glinted from the lights outside. He smiled. She opened his gift, even though he hadn't been there to see it. Booth that she might never open it. That made him smile even more.

Before he could stop himself, he was walking around to the other side of the bed and lifting up the sheets so he could lay down next to her and escape the draft that she still hadn't fixed.

Pulling the covers up around his ears, Booth snuggled close to her and closed his eyes, exhausted from the traveling.

"Merry Christmas, Bones." he whispered in her ear, before he fell asleep with his arm around her waist and his face in the crook of her neck.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**What did you think? Cute, or too emotional? **

**Also, there will probably be only ONE MORE chapter of this, seeing as I'm reaching the seventh chapter and Christmas is upon us tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll get it up for tomorrow, so keep looking for it!**


	7. Seven: World's Best Anthropologist

**A/N: I know, I know. It's two days late. Originally when I was going to write it on Christmas day, I realized that Christmas really does have some assembly required which took up pretty much the whole day. And then yesterday I stared at the document FOREVER, but couldn't think of anything good. But today I was back on my game, so hopefully you all have enough holiday cheer to enjoy the last installment of my little Christmas story!  
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Chapter 7: The World's Best Forensic Anthropologist

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"GODDAMMIT!" Booth yelled at no one in particular on the street. There was three days until Christmas, and he had nothing.

Giving his partner the twelve days of Christmas was hard enough; Every year he spent days wandering around DC looking for the perfect gift. Usually, he could find one fairly easily but not this time. And this year it was especially important to find the perfect gift now that they were living together and starting a family.

Twelve hours. He had been at it for twelve freaking hours and he had still come up with nothing. His head just about wanted to explode. Booth briefly even wondered if he would have to resort to actually giving her seven swans for Christmas. Even then, they still didn't have a house of their own and had no place to put them.

Scrunching up his face in frustration, Booth fisted his keys in his pocket and stormed from the store front to his car. He grumbled angrily under his breath and with cold, shaking hands opened the door so he could crank up the heat.

"Warm up, dammit!" he growled, hitting the dashboard, hoping it would help. Trying to shake his anger, he put the car in to reverse and backed out of the parking space so he could head home. To make things even worse, on the way home it started snowing and he had to turn on the wipers so the dark road would still be visible.

About halfway home, Booth's phone vibrated in his pocket. He ripped off his glove with his teeth so he could get at it and flipped it open.

It was Bones.

"Heya Bones!" Booth tried to hide his frustration, hoping that she wouldn't hear it in his voice.

"_Hey, where have you been all day?" _she asked. "_I've been a bit lonely here all day decorating and making cookies all by myself."_

"Sorry, Bones. I've just been a bit busy shopping." Booth looked in the back seat where, even though he got nothing for Bones, he had seen some gifts for other people.

"_Well are you on your way home now?" _

"Yeah, I'll be back in probably about ten minutes."

"_Good. I made some macaroni and cheese for you, but you weren't home on time to eat it."_

"It's okay Bones. I can heat up some when I get back." Booth could tell that she sounded tired. He always felt the same way after decorating and baking cookies with Parker.

"_Oh, don't forget Booth we have to pick up Max from the airport tomorrow." _she said stifling a yawn. Booth groaned. Ever since Max had found out about his daughter's pregnancy, he had insisted coming in to town again for Christmas so they could be together as a family. Max even invited Russ and his family and insisted that Booth have Parker for Christmas so they could be one big, happy family.

"All right. I'll take care of that. Rebecca is also dropping Parker off." he head her yawn again on the other end of the line again. "Bones, maybe you should go lie down."

"_That sounds like and excellent suggestion. This pregnancy is taking a toll on me." _Brennan yawned again. "_I'll be in bed when you get back." _

"Is that an offer?" Booth laughed. "Because I would be willing to take you up on that."

"_Booth, you know what I mean. Just come in quietly when you get here." _

"Okay, Bones. Sweet dreams." she said a stifled goodbye and clicked off.

The rest of the drive was a bit easier for Booth. He was in a better mood after hearing Brennan's voice and turned on the radio to a song that made him feel even better.

_I don't want a lot for Christmas_

_There is just one thing I need_

_I don't care about the presents_

_Underneath the Christmas tree_

_I just want you for my own_

_More than you could ever know_

_Make my wish come true_

_All I want for Christmas is you_

XXXXXXXXX

Booth walked slowly in to the bedroom, careful of the squeaky door as not to disturb his sleeping partner. He closed the door quietly and set his bags of presents down by the foot of the bed. Silently, he leaned over to close the door.

Feeling around on the floor, Booth tried to find the pajamas that he had thrown off carelessly from the night before. After a few minutes of searching in the near-darkness, he gave up, stripped of his clothes from the day and went over to his dresser to get a pair of boxers. Looking in the mirror, he saw the faint outline of Brennan under the heavy comforter.

She looked absolutely stunning.

Her pale skin contrasted beautifully with the dark sheets and her curly hair flowed over the pillows and over the side of the bed. She had her head tucked in to the crook of her neck at kind of an awkward angle. Her hand was flung over her rounded belly.

"_Oh Bones, you're so pretty," _Booth whispered to himself as he struggled to pull a pair of boxers out of the overstuffed drawer.

Booth began the long struggle of putting on his boxers in the darkness. He missed the right leg hole with his foot a few times, and when he finally got it, he lost his balance. He threw his hand on the dresser for balance, which worked, but in the process he sent a boxlike object flying.

Getting up, he looked around to see if the noise startled Brennan. Luckily, she was still sound asleep, he chest rising and falling slowly. But when he looked to see what he knocked over, he knew he was in trouble.

It was her music box.

The same music box that he had gotten her on their fourth year of their partnership. He picked it up and carried it to the bathroom to assess the damage.

Squinting in the bright lights, Booth lifted the lid carefully. The inside wasn't broken at all; the glass wasn't cracked and the little machine looked like it would still work. He even checked the little brass knob on the side to find it unharmed.

It was when he closed the lid where he knew the box suffered the damage. The lid was practically cracked in two; a jagged crack ran along the front and stemmed out in to hundreds of smaller cracks. The bird on the front was barely recognizable anymore. Booth sighed, weighing his options.

He could replace the box, but it was already a rare collectible that he spent a long time looking for. And Brennan would probably know if he did. It was almost a talent for her. Booth also had the option of just telling he it broke, but he decided against that option, knowing that she would probably get mad. He knew that she loved that little box a lot. Sometimes, he would even catch her humming the melody softly while reading or making dinner.

Booth was defeated. He was tired and cranky from his long day of shopping and just wanted to go to bed. He set the box down on the counter and shut the light off. Pulling up the covers, Booth got under the thick down blanket and curled up close to his partner. His hand went to hold her hand, which rested on her stomach.

Closing his eyes, Booth started to hum.

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night, _

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly,_

_All your life, _

_You were only waiting for this moment to arise._

XXXXXXXXX

A knock on the bedroom door awoke the couple.

"Come in," Booth said groggily. The door flew open and the ten-year-old voice of Parker rang throughout the room.

"Come on, dad! It's Christmas!" he shouted and ran to Booth's side of the bed to tug the covers off of his father.

"Okay, okay buddy. Give me a second." A knock on the apartment door distracted Parker.

"I'll get it!" he said. "It's probably Uncle Russ and Max"

Booth turned to Brennan and shook her awake. "Wake up, Bones. It's Christmas!" he said softly in her ear. She sat up and blinked sleepily at him.

"I thought I heard Parker yelling something about that," she said. Booth jumped out of bed to put on a shirt and some pajama pants, which he thought he should do seeing as he slept in his boxers again.

"Do you want your robe?" he asked her, taking it off the hanger in the closet. She nodded and he tossed it to her as she sat on the edge of the bed and she gratefully put it on, shivering from the slight coolness of the air.

"Hey, Booth?" Brennan's voice echoed in the room. "What happened to my music box? I haven't seen it in a few days." Booth froze, his eyes wide, trying to think of what to tell her.

"We'll talk about it later, okay?" he said quietly and luckily, she agreed.

"Dad! Come on! Everyone's waiting!" they heard Parker yelling from the living room. Booth walked over to Brennan, who was still on the edge of the bed and grabbed her hands.

"Up you go, Bones." he said, groaning a little at her weight, but still managed to pull her up.

"Thanks, Booth." she said, smiling at him as they headed in to the living room.

Ten minutes later, everyone was happily seated in the small living room with either coffee or hot chocolate. Brennan held a cup of decaffeinated tea. Parker and Russ' step-daughters were eagerly helping to hand out the presents under the tree and the stockings that hung on the wall so that everyone got a little pile of presents, which they began to unwrap.

"Oh, thanks honey!" Max said, unwrapping a wool red and white striped hat that Brennan had gotten for him.

"I thought you might like it. Your old hat is getting kind of beat up." she looked at the hat that he had worn in with the large hole in the seam.

Parker was also getting excited about his presents. The large Mythbusters science kit that he pulled out of the box was something that he had been asking for.

"Wow cool! Thanks dad!" he said, smiling at him. "Maybe Bones can help me with it."

"I'd be happy to help, Parker." she said with a smile.

Brennan picked up a medium-sized square box from her pile.

"Oh, that's from me, Bones." she smiled. She had a guess about what it was, but didn't say anything and picked up the card.

On the front was another picture of them. This time, it was of the two of them after the first snow of the year building a snowman with Parker. They were all smiling and Booth had his arm around Brennan. She had her arm draped over her stomach and had a genuine look of happiness on her face as she watched Parker hug his snowman. She flipped open to the inside of the card.

_To my Bones, _

_Over this past year, you have become a very real part of my family. My heart still flutters every time I remember that spring evening after Michael was born when you told me that you were pregnant. You're the love of my life and I am so lucky to have you for myself. Whenever I'm having a bad day, your voice instantly cheers me up and seeing you asleep in my bed every night is like every wonderful dream I've ever had about you. I remember mentioning this a few years ago, and I hope you find my gift to you this year just as special as you are._

_With love, _

_Booth._

"That was really thoughtful, Booth. Thank you." she said, gesturing to the card.

"Open it." Booth said, a bit impatiently.

Brennan didn't hesitate to rip off the white paper with bright baubles on it to reveal a heavy box. She opened the lid and just had to stop and laugh.

Inside was not something with seven swans on it like she anticipated, but a coffee mug. She pulled it out of the box to reveal the design. It was completely white with big black letters on the front that said 'World's Best Forensic Anthropologist'. Brennan couldn't help but smile.

"Thanks, Booth!" she said. "But I already know that I'm the world's best forensic anthropologist."

"I know that, Bones. But I thought that it might be nice to remind you of that every day." Brennan leaned across the couch to hug him.

"Oh, Booth, this would be a perfect time to open my gift." Max said across the room as Brennan released him. "It's the flat rectangular one."

Booth found the box in his pile and picked it up, ripping the paper off and throwing it on the floor. He opened the thin black box to reveal a tie. It had a black background, but that was mostly hidden by the different little white bones on it.

"Wow, thanks, Max." he said. "I knew I needed a tie with bones on it."

"Yeah," Max answered. "Since you're living with my daughter the bone doctor now, I thought you could use something like that." Max grinned at him.

And for once, as he put it around his neck, Booth couldn't help but grin back.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**And thus it ends! Did you like it? Leave a comment!**


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